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Shirley Solgot had been unemployed for two years after being laid-off from a position in the financial services industry, when she attended the orientation session at the Southgate Michigan Works! in September 2009.

Shirley had always wanted to work in a hospital but her skills and experience were in office management, primarily with a local credit union. In 2007, she had applied for a job at Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital and a manager called her to ask some questions. He told her he appreciated her application but that she needed some medical background to be qualified. She applied for everything she could for years at the hospital in hopes that someone would give her a chance, but she knew it would not happen until she went to school. In September 2009, Shirley sought out assistance through the Michigan Works! Southgate Service Center and was registered in the WIA program in December 2009.

Shirley researched her training options and found that DBI in Riverview offered a 48-week Medical Office program that would give Shirley the credentials she needed to get into a medical environment and use her existing, strong office skills. A waiver was submitted and approved to use the full amount available for a one year program.

Shirley was approved to start training in March 2010, but as a mother of a Marine, she delayed her training start date to travel to South Carolina and spend time with her son before his deployment. She took that trip with no regrets. Along with DBI, Michigan Works! worked with Shirley to adjust her start date to October 2010.

Shirley successfully completed the training and was hired at a Southgate Internal Medicine in December 2011. She left with great praise in May 2012 to work at Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital on the sixth floor as a Unit Secretary. The very manager at Wyandotte Hospital that told her back in 2007 that she needed some medical background actually hired her in 2012. He was reminded of his life-changing advice when Shirley went for the interview.

Shirley will soon be celebrating her first anniversary at Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital and could not be happier, stating, “I really believe that I would still be unemployed if not for Southgate Michigan Works!.”